Bach’s St. John Passion: Which Version?

Today, Good Friday 2025, marks 300 years since Bach performed the St. John Passion in Leipzig. … but it started like this:

But wait, I thought the St. John Passion was:

In this episode, beyond outlining the basic revisions between the 1724 and 1725 (and a few other) versions of BWV 245, we’ll study how people heard passion music, the purpose of a passion setting, and how Bach, by changing the opening and closing movements, or swapping an aria here and there, envisioned he might guide the listener into a different state of reflection to receive the same Gospel.

Today’s performers were M. Suzuki, H. Rilling and P. Herreweghe. Here is a link to the Weimar Passion theory I mentioned. Finally, the excerpt by Daniel Melamed comes from his excellent book: Hearing Bach’s Passions. Revised ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016, 73–74.

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Concepts covered:

Various versions of BWV 245, especially the 1724 and 1725 layers, analyzing changes in opening and closing choruses, aria placement, as well as theological emphasis. Topics include Lenten music practices, the music during tempus clausum, the Passion oratorio, Passion hymns such as “O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß,” the liturgical and devotional role of chorales, and how Bach’s compositional decisions recalibrate the listener’s reception of the Johannine Passion text. We discuss changes in orchestration and the change in venue from St. Thomaskirche to St. Nikolaikirche in 1724.

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